


The Comfort of the Shadows

by Spark (SparkPlug)



Series: Original Works [4]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work, omegaverse - fanfiction, omegeverse - Fandom
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alphas/Omegas are part cat and/or dog, Break Up, Breeding, F/M, Introverts, M/M, Nesting, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Verse, Omegaverse, Other, Post-Break Up, ambiverts, community nests, extroverts - Freeform, soul healing magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 15:22:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18471673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkPlug/pseuds/Spark
Summary: Celeste is an Omega who has the gift to heal broken souls. However, Ajex is her last case before she's sent to retraining and completely reprogrammed. Can she complete this case and finally find happiness, or will she be taken away and reprogrammed?





	1. Chapter 1

Some say being able to save broken souls is a gift. Others say it’s a curse. While you get to fully heal someone who’s been broken, you yourself can never fully be healed. So in some ways, it is a curse. However, the feeling that you can save someone, and raise them from the ground and back to the sky is enough. It makes you feel whole, even in your darkest hour. That’s why, the few with this gift who have this gift, choose to help others. 

“It’s your next case,” the older gentleman in a white lab coat presented to the young woman sitting in front of him in a fresh, matte, tan colored folder with a small white sticker with a black outlined brain on it. 

“Thank you,” she smiled, nodding her head to him and picking up the folder.

Opening up the folder, her eyes scanned the data. Name; Ajax Klein, date of birth; April 14 4019, Age; 20, Sex; Male, Secondary Gender; Alpha, Diagnosis; Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety, Medication; Sertraline (Zoloft), lprazolam (Xanax), House Number; 3582, Partner(s); Celeste Heavens, Previous Partner(s); Kinkajou Burbenberry… The sheet went on and on, but for now, that was all she needed to know.

“Is there anything else I should know?” she asked the man in the lab coat politely.

“There is one more thing,” he put his hand on her shoulder, “This is your last chance at settling down with a partner. If you don’t produce pups from this assignment, you’ll be placed in a retraining home.”

“No,” she breathed, clutching her chest. That was the worst fate someone could be too. It was missing love, and those who came out of the program alive were broken and needed constant care or… didn’t make it.

“I’m sorry Celeste, but we need to use your gift,” he said solemnly.   
“Now, we need to take you to the new address. Come on.”

Stepping out of the small room, the two of them walked down the hospital halls towards two tall guards. Celeste caught her reflection in a mirror passing by, her hair was up in two space buns, the pale blue skirt matched perfectly with her white shirt, and the knee-high white stockings. Her outfit matched her fur perfectly, the fluffy white of her tail, and ears always stood out in a crowd.

Looking up at the guards, she gave them a broad smile, making them smile back. Her hearts purity was enough to put smiles on others faces and warm souls. They two of them walked her out of the hospital, and they stepped outside into the warm afternoon sun.

 

Outside the hospital, there was a large park, with tall trees and green grass. Pack’s were playing, mates were on dates, and little pups and kits were running amuck across the grass and on the playground, tails wagging behind them. Celeste smiled as they walked down the street towards division 3.

The city she had found herself in was one of the most highly protected in the whole world. It was a place organized by the worlds top leaders as a safe haven for the worlds few gifted people. Omegas, those who have gifted the power of life, the ability to produce children, and Alphas, those who were gifted the power of fertilizing, the counterpart to Omegas. Most of the people here were abused or bullied or worse as kids, and teens, so they were placed here. Under the care of others, and raised in a more normal and happy environment. Here you had one job in life, living happily. They would assign you to a house, with others that are meant to be packmates and lifemates, if the assignments didn’t work out you’re switched around till they did. However, there were strict rules here...

If you used up all your chances or had some other reason, you were placed in the breeding program. A gruesome program that only had the concern of producing offspring, most times by force. Those who went in were changed and broken down to crave one thing. Sex.

If your arrangements did work out, however, you would be expected to produce offspring with your lifemate. Typically you would raise the pups, but if they happened to be normal, or Betas, they were taken away from you at birth. It was cruel, to say the least. 

If for some reason you weren’t able to produce offspring, due to infertility, you would be given pups from those in the breeding program, and you would have to raise them as your own.

Those who caused fights, couldn’t hold a partner, refused offspring or misbehaved in some other way, were sent to retraining. Retraining was worse than being in a house, in the rest of the world, or a breeding program. They actually broke you on purpose. Omega’s were trained to be compliant, breed, and serve their Alpha as a master. Alpha’s were trained to be strict, breed, and treat their Omega’s as a toy, and how to properly treat an Omega. Those who were lifemates, and went into retraining, never saw each other again. They already sent Celeste’s last lifemate to retraining, if she slipped up now, she would be done for.

Celeste gulped. They had stopped in front of a very large house. Its sideing was made of wooden planks, it looked like a house they’d call modern in the twenty-first century, tree’s all around it, and large glass windows on the front of the house letting her look inside at the people happily talking in a community nest that sat in the living room. She wondered how the people inside would treat her. Would they hate her, would she be expected to make meals, do the shopping, clean the house? The stories of omega’s being treated like people seemed so distant from her right now. Which one in there was the soul she had to fix? Would he be kind to her? She hoped so, with all her heart she had left.

Clutching the folder tighter in her hands, she walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Inside she could hear mad scrambling and shouts of “I’ll get it!” and “Calm down Chia! You’ll scare them!” She had to laugh softly to herself when a little girl who looked around sixteen appeared at the door, her tail wagging quickly behind her. 

“Hi!” the girl chirps at her, her species looked to be a breed of corgi.

“Hi,” Celeste said back awkwardly.

“Are you the helper for Ajax?” she asked, her ears slightly flattening to her head in sadness.

“CHIA! That’s not very polite to ask!” the Maine coon lectured that appeared behind her.

“Yes, I’m the worker for Ajax. I’m here to help him, if you’ll let me,” Celeste replied calmly, trying to not break down from an anxiety attack.

“Oh thank you!” the little girl ran up and hugged Celeste around the waist quickly before a black labrador pulled her away.

“I’m very sorry about her, she’s young and doesn’t know how to act around new people,” the ‘coon apologized, offering silently for Celeste to step inside.

“It’s quite alright. Actually, most people have a very negative reaction to me. It’s nice to see someone happy that I’m here,” Celeste smiled, stepping inside and gaping at her surroundings. 

It was an open layout, with a spiral staircase at the side. There was a large community nest in the middle of the room that had many blankets and pillows in it and looked super comfy. A large flat-screen tv on the east wall over top a brick fireplace. The kitchen had marble counter-topping and dark oak cupboards. There was an island in the middle of the tile floor for the kitchen, and a fridge that had a water fountain on the front of it, and a matching stove built into the counter. The view outside was gorgeous, with large green trees, and a big backyard that had a stream going through it.

In total there were six people in front of her. The young girl who opened the door, the man holding her, the female Maine coon, a male Shibu Ino, a male tuxedo cat, and a male miniature poodle. They all seemed to have warm smiles or neutral looks that looked friendly.

“H-hello,” Celeste stuttered, clearing her throat before continuing, “my name is Celeste. I have been assigned to help Ajax Klein recover and stabilize his mental health, and hopefully, become his lifemate.”

There was a bit of awkward silence before someone spoke up.

“Well, you don’t have to be so formal about it. You sound like a robot,” the Shibu Ino said, getting smacked on the head by the miniature poodle immediately.  
“OW! What was that for?!”

“Sorry about him, my names Pascal, and this dumbass is my mate, Axel. It’s nice to have another packmate around,” the poodle stuck his hand out for Celeste to shake.

Celeste shook his hand, smiling. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oo! My names Chia!” the little corgi announced, squirming out of the lab’s grip.

“I’m Leo, Chia’s mate,” the lab put in as well, as Chia hugged Celeste for the second time.

“My names Emma,” the Maine Coon smiled when Chia finally let go of her,   
“and this is my mate, Jiang,” she gestured to the Shibu Ino next to her.

“It’s really nice to meet you all. You’re such nice people, probably the nicest I’ve met,” Celeste said with utter sincerity.

“Well thank you. But I don’t think we have time for pleasantries. Ajex really does need help, he hasn’t been out of his room since Kinkajou left,” Emma spoke worriedly, motioning for Celeste to follow her.

Taking off her shoes, Celeste scurried after her.   
“Is that good or bad?” she asked.

“It’s worse than bad. It’s been six weeks,” Emma told Celeste, her tone laced with worry.


	2. Chapter 2

Celeste stood outside the door. It was a large brown door that had a dent by the doorknob as if someone punched it, and the paint on the doorframe was chipped, suggesting that someone slammed the door multiple times. Emma had told her that this was the correct door, and Celeste had used the washroom already. She had the folder placed at her side, and her hair straightened and fixed in two messy space buns. So with a deep breath, she turned the doorknob, and… dammit, it was locked.

Celeste searched her pocket for the small key that Emma had given her, and pushed it into the door. Unlocking it and having to give a bit of a shove to get it fully open.

The room was a mess. There was garbage on the floor, dirty clothes everywhere, all the sheets had been stripped off the bed, and the door to the second room over, the nest room, was wide open. There was no sign of a man in the bedroom, so Celeste closed the door behind her, and headed further inside the room, trying not to step on anything.

When she reached the open door, she cautiously peeked her head inside and saw a shaking ball of blankets in the middle of a sloppily made nest. Setting down the folder in arms reach, Celeste searched for the words to say that had slipped her tongue despite her preparations.

“Ajax?” she asked quietly, pausing for a response.

The blankets stopped shaking, and a small fluffy ear peaked out from under them, Celeste had to admit it was quite adorable.

“My names Celeste. I’m here to help if you’ll let me,” Celeste spoke in a quiet tone, trying not to push her presence onto Ajax.

“Go away,” Ajax mumbled stubbornly, making Celeste roll her eyes.

“I can’t ‘go away’,” Celeste replied with an equal amount of stubbornness.

“Yes you can, you just turn around and walk out the door,” the pile of blankets mumbled back.

“Sorry bub, this is my room too. So, no I can’t,” Celeste folded her arms playfully.

There was a small pause in the conversation, and Celeste unfolded her arms and sat down next to the nest.

“I’m sorry. I know this might be new to you, or stressful, but I am here to help. However, I need your cooperation to be able to do so.”

“I’m not leaving the room.”

“I never expected that.”

“Good.”

“Can you sit up for me please?” Celeste asked politely, getting a blanket ready.

“Okay…” Ajax mumbled, pushing himself up weakly, but never making eye contact with Celeste.

The man she saw in front of him was handsome, she had to admit, however, he also looked sickly, and dehydrated. There were tear tracks down his face, and his eyes were puffy from crying so much. His skin was pale, compared to her light chocolate brown, his hair was a light brown tuft on the top of his head that looked a little shaggy and overgrown, there was a little bit of a beard forming on his chin from not shaving for a while. His ears were drooped down against his head sadly, his tail clinging closely to his body. He was skinny, but the type of skinny you got when you had already been skinny and made yourself get skinnier, his clothes hung off of him loosely, a pair of black boxers, and a dirty black t-shirt.

He… his underwear… it’s… he’s practically naked!

“You’re staring, I look bad. Don’t I,” he mumbled embarrassedly, trying to recede into the nest again.

“N-no, you look fine. I’m going to get you some food and something to drink, I’ll be back in a little bit. Why don’t you take a shower?”

“Okay…” he agreed reluctantly, attempting to get up, but falling down and having Celeste catch him.

“Actually, on second thought, we’ll get you a shower later. Just stay here,” Celeste said softly, setting him down on the nest again.

“Okay…”

“I’ll be back in a bit,” Celeste smiled, standing up and heading to the door. 

“Okay…”

Celeste stepped outside the door and headed down the hall towards the kitchen/living room. She found Chia and Emma talking in the community nest, and Jiang and Pascal talking in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

“Excuse me,” Celeste squeaked, approaching Pascal and Jiang.

“Oh! It’s our newest kitty! What can we do for you?” Jiang smiled at her.

“Well I’m going to see if I can get some food and water in Ajax, but I don’t have anything to give him,” Celeste explained.  
“Leave it to us! Pascal?” 

Pascal gave a curt nod, and got out a large wooden tray from the cupboard, getting down two glasses and two bowls as well.

“I hope you don’t mind, we were preparing dinner and it had just finished. We’ll give you a bowl as well, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Pascal and Jiang dished up two bowls of soup for her, one with a single scoop and another with two scoops. They also got two mason jar glasses with screw-on lids for her so that they wouldn’t spill, and poured ice water inside. Pascal also placed five biscuits in a small basket with a napkin covering them so they wouldn’t cool down to fast. When they finally handed her the tray, there was silverware, food, water, and a little card for Ajax on it.

“Thank you very much,” Celeste smiled, taking the tray.

“You’re very welcome. If you want seconds, just help yourself.”

“Okay got it, thank you,” Celeste started to head back to the room until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“How is he?” Pascal asked.

“He’s… he’s in not the greatest shape, but I got him up and talking so, he’s doing better.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

 

Celeste got back to the room, setting the tray down briefly to open the door. She found Ajax still sitting up in bed like she had asked him too, thank god. He had been malnourished and dehydrated and could’ve passed out at any moment.

“Ajax?” Celeste whispered, setting the tray down on the table attached to the nest. 

There was an incoherent mumble from Ajax. He seemed to be staring off into space, and unresponsive.

“I brought you some food. Pascal and Jiang were making soup and biscuits and they were kind enough to give me some for you. However, I need you to turn to your right so you can eat,” Celeste explained quietly.

Ajax seemed to understand this simple request and turned his body to the tray of food on the miny table. He didn’t flinch or move away when Celeste sat down next to him and moved the blanket out of his face. He would take small bites, but he managed to get food into his stomach, in the time it took Celeste to eat her bowl and biscuits, Ajax was halfway done his soup. It worried Celeste, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt from not eating very much for six weeks. This was the time she noticed how dirty the nest was.

The sheets and blankets were a mess with snot, tears, and drool, there was an odd odor in the air that was clinging to the pillows, and Ajax was still, well, disheveled. Celeste formed a game plan to clean up the nest, room, and Ajax while he finished his soup. 

Once Ajax’s bowl of soupy goodness was finished, and all the biscuits were gone, Celeste placed the tray in the bedroom by the door. Next, she turned her attention to the bathroom, checking out what she had to work with. 

Surprisingly, it was clean. She gave the tub a quick rinse with the shower head, and set out a fresh towel, placing the old one on Ajax’s bed. She turned the tub’s tap on, and then she returned to Ajax.

“Ajax, I need you to stand up for me,” she asked politely.

As soon as he was on his feet, she caught him from falling. Carefully she helped him walk to the bathroom, letting him sit down on the toilet seat.

“Okay, good job,” she smiled, “We have to get you into the tub, so, arms up!”

Taking the hem of Ajax’s shirt, she lifted it off. Gulping when she saw how skinny he was, this was not good, not good at all. Placing the shirt in the laundry basket, she let Ajax to do his underwear himself, looking the other way as he did so. When she turned back, Ajax’s tail was covering himself, thank god, and he looked ashamed, scared even.

“Hey, it’s okay. Come on, the water should be ready by now,” Celeste tried to comfort him by offering Ajax the warmth of the tub water.

“Okay…” Ajax mumbled, reaching up to take Celeste’s hand.

This small action startled her, she didn’t expect him to do that willingly without being prompted too. She took both his hands in hers, and helped him up, and to walk over to the tub, easing him down gently so he could soak in the water.

“Wash yourself up, and relax, okay? Call me if you need,” Celeste told him, turning to walk away.  
“Celeste?” she heard a soft voice call. Turning around she faced him again.  
“Thank you.”

“....You’re welcome,” Celeste gave him a soft smile, before closing the bathroom door.


	3. Chapter 3

Celeste set about cleaning up the nest first. She knew she needed a fresh nest ready before Ajax got out of his bath for two reasons, one, nests were comfortable and calming for Alpha’s and Omega’s under stress, or with depression, and two, Ajax would be clean, and in need of a clean place to be. So, she stripped off the blankets, linings, pillows cases, and picked up the clothing that was laying on the floor in both rooms. She also too the laundry basket, and the bedsheets. Once she had compiled a mass of every washable item in the rooms, she left the room, after letting Ajax know. She made her way to the living room, leaving the sheets and other things in the hall. She found Axel sitting on the couch, playing on his phone.

“Axel?” 

“Celeste! What’s up?” he asked, turning his phone off.

“Do you have a washer and dryer?”

“Why yes we do, we have a room in fact. You know, Omegas,” Axel stood up, gesturing for her to follow.

“Can I grab my stuff first?” 

“Oh! Yes, of course.”

Axel patiently followed Celeste and helped carry some things to the room. It was in the basement, the room you stepped into. The layout was cute and cozy, a foldable ironing table was attached to the wall, there were two washers, and dryers, a clothing rack, and a drying rack, as well as a staircase outside so that you could hang things to dry outside as well.

“It’s really nice down here,” Celeste commented, sorting her bundle of clothes into separate piles.

“Yup, Pascal designed it himself, and we all pitched in to make it work,” Axel explained, helping Celeste sort.  
“So, laundry soap and dryer balls, and bounce sheets are in here, as well as delicate bags, and stain removers. We also have clothespins, and a lint can.”

“Thank you,” Celeste smiled, putting the first load in.

“No, thank you,” he replied.

“Okay, so this will beep when the machine is done,” Axel told her, handing her a small pager.

“Got it,” Celeste nodded until a thought popped into her head.  
“Um… I have to go... I’ll do the machine… thank you,” Celeste called as she rushed up the stairs and back to the bedroom. Quietly she opened the door as if not to let it be known that she wasn’t in the room. Slipping the small pager into her back pocket, she opened the door to the bathroom.  
“Is everything alright in here?”

She received a deer in headlights look from Ajax. “Yeah, I’m good… didn’t you go to do the laundry?”

“I did, but then I was talking to Axel,” Celeste rubbed her neck awkwardly, looking at the floor.

“That’s good. Are you guys getting along?” 

“Y-you’re not mad?”

“No...? Why would I be?” Ajax tilted his head to the side.

“I just… my last… he didn’t like me talking to other people…”

“Well, I’m just glad you’re getting along,” Ajax gave her a small smile.

“Thank you… Are you almost done your bath?”

“Yeah almost.”

“Okay good. Call me when you need,” Celeste smiled, closing the door behind her.

“Okay,” Ajax mumbled after she left.

Wiggling her fingers, Celeste hurried over to the nest room. She opened the cupboard built into the wall, and pulled out new linings, covering the whole nest with them. She continued on with fresh blankets, pausing briefly to go do the laundry machine. The pillows got fresh new cases and were carefully placed around the nest to create maximum comfort. She weaved a few small blankets and shirts -after scenting them like her- into the nest, and by the time she stepped back she was smiling at the good work, she had done.

She was just about to flop into the nest when she heard her name called from the bathroom. Grabbing a fresh towel, she knocked once before entering the bathroom.

“Hey Ajax, what’s up?” she asked like talking to a little kid.

“I um… can you help me out of the tub?” he stumbled through his words, making Celeste smile softly.

“Of course.” Celeste walked forwards and pulled the drain of the tub. She wrapped the fresh towel around Ajax’s head so he wouldn’t get cold. Carefully she took his hands and helped him out of the tub without falling so that he was standing on the bath mat.  
“There.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, fluffing his hair with the towel.

“You’re welcome. I’ll leave the door open, try and see if you can walk to the bed, okay?”

“Okay…”

Celeste left the room to go grab the last load of laundry from downstairs, pausing briefly to ask for a snack from Pascal, who gladly obliged, giving her some brownies and milk tea. When she snuck into the room again, Ajax was sitting on the sheetless bed in a pastel pink sweater and grey pajama pants. 

“Hey, can you give me a hand?” she asked, setting down the fresh sheets on the bed.

Ajax nodded, taking the bottom sheet and starting to make the bed.

“Thank you,” Celeste smiled, leaving a couple of blankets and the comforter next to the bed, and slipping into the nest room to place the fresh blankets in the nest.

When she returned to the bedroom, she let out a soft laugh when she found Ajax under a pile of blankets on top of the bed.

“Suprise?” he announced awkwardly, smiling at her when she lifted up a blanket off of his face.

“Suprise indeed. You seem full of energy, did the food do some good?” she asked, spreading the blankets, and the comforter across the bed.

Ajax hooked his arms around Celeste’s torso and tumbled them across the bed until he was on top of her. 

“Yes... thank you,” he breathed, his breath warm against her lips.

His lips were so close to hers, she leaned up slightly, and put her arms around his neck. The two of them closed their eyes, their faces inches away from each other. 

Their lips had just barely grazed each other’s when the door opened and a voice filled their ears.

“Hey, you guys want to come out of your room to watch a movie with us?” Chia asked with enthusiasm from the door.

“Um, yeah sure. We’ll be right out in a moment,” Celeste stuttered, getting out from under Ajax, and standing up.

“Okay!” Chia sang, closing the door behind her.

“That was close,” Ajax mumbled, wrapping his arms around Celeste’s waist.

“Really close,” Celeste agreed.  
“I need to change my clothes.”

Ajax let go of her, pulling his sweater off, and placing it in her arms.  
“Here.”

“Oh, thank you,” Celeste breathed, clutching the sweater to her chest as she dug through her bag for a pair of pj's.

Eventually, she settled on a black t-shirt, and a pair of soft leggings that had lama’s printed on them. She tugged the sweater over her head and turned around to see Ajax staring up at the ceiling guiltily, his tail wagging back and forth excitedly.

“Ready?” she asked, walking to the door.

“Yup,” he replied, following her out of the room, and down the hall to where their packmates were settled in the com. Nest.

“So, what are we watching?” Celeste asked, settling down in the nest next to Ajax.

“Emma wanted to watch the new Fantastic Beasts movie. That okay with you?” Jiang explained, placing a question at the end.

“Fuck yeah! That’s amazing!” Celeste said a little too excitedly, “I mean um, that’s cool.”

A little chuckle went through the group as Emma pressed play on the remote, and they hushed down for a night of popcorn and fun.


End file.
